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I was looking for something different for the holidays, when a friend suggested turkey breast. Turkey breast is easy to slice and serve, and leftovers can be stored in small containers for quick leftovers. It tends to dry out, so be careful not to overcook.

To keep the turkey moist, I slathered it with a mixture of herbs, oil and lemon juice. Easy, elegant, and tasty.

I read with great interest your planning and preparation for your amazing BarMitzvah for 35 people. I think that it might be helpful if you gave your readers the “lay of the land” with respect to your kitchen. For example, how many ovens, refrigerators, and freezers do you have and are they extra large? In addition, you seem to be working with the crème de la crème of food processors. Could someone feasibly accomplish your set of tasks with a lesser Kitchenaid? Finally, what size pots do you have? While I cook a fair amount, I am do not believe that I own the pots necessary for this kind of meal preparation. Frankly, I am not certain what size pot(s) one would need to cook cholent (Sabbath stew) for 35. I am also wondering how much blech space you have. [Note: A blech is a metal tray placed over burners, used for keeping food warm over the sabbath.]

Sarah, thanks for sending your question. The thought of cooking for so many people is intimidating!

You’re correct that having and well-equipped kitchen makes things a lot easier. I have a large family and have invested in a good amount of equipment over the years. On the other hand, every kitchen has space and equipment limitations, and every home chef has limited amounts of time, energy and expense. There are many techniques for getting around these limits. Let’s address the issues one at a time.

Ovens.If you are using your oven for cooking and baking, you can fill it up again and again. Ideally, you’ll have pans that take up the maximum amount of space. If you are talking about reheating, hotplates may be more practical than a blech. I’ll address that below.
I have a double oven, but the ovens do not work at the same time. The larger one is still small by American standards. The smaller one can fit two large trays that came with the oven, as long as I don’t fill them too high. While I can fit four whole chickens on one tray, the second tray won’t then fit. Oven space is usually less of a limitation than time, as you can refill the oven again and again. This is assuming that you have space to store the cooked food until your event.

Food processor. I do have a large one, but that is really not necessary. You can process or grate in batches, then dump into a large bowl and mix again at the end. Even challah dough can be kneaded in batches, although I usually do large batches of dough by hand. Even the largest food processor can’t do everything.

Bowls. Plastic bowls of different sizes can be very useful when you have a small processor. I use mine for mixing salads, casseroles, kugels (vegetable puddings), or dough. Try to keep at least one very large bowl, of at least 14 liters (quarts). Bonus if it has a cover, like the pink one in the picture that lives on top of a bathroom cabinet.

Pots. It’s difficult to make very large meals without at least one large pot. Garage sales are likely to have a few, or you may be able to borrow from friends. If you have the burner space, split the soup into two smaller pots to halve serving time (with help and an extra ladle). Other foods can be transferred from the pot to aluminum trays for heating, so you can save the large pot for the cholent (stew). I used a 14-liter pot for the cholent, to serve 35. Another option is to make everything in large aluminum trays in the even, including cholent. But the cost of heavy-duty disposable trays will add up.
If you have four pots, four electric or gas burners, and an oven with space for two trays, you can cook six things at once (although some might be small amounts). A crock pot or electric pot increases your yield. If you schedule carefully, you can finish with 2-3 prepping and cooking sessions over a few days or weeks.

Reheating and keeping food warm. I own both a large and a small electric hotplate, that can each hold several pots or trays of food. Perhaps you can borrow one or two. Depending on the time of year, plan the menu so that fewer items require heating. For instance, serving cold fish as an appetizer instead of hot soup saves on heating time.

Electrical power. Electricity and electrical outlets are another limitation to consider. Not every kitchen is equipped to have the oven, air-conditioner, dishwasher, refrigerator, two or three hotplates, a hot water urn, and a slow cooker operating simultaneously. Be sure to test in advance by running all of your equipment at once.

How will you store leftovers, and in what? Would you rather distribute them to your guests? This link may be helpful: Estimating Quantities.

On the day of the event, how will you heat the food and keep it warm? What containers will maximize that space, and what can they contain? What utensils will you use for serving?

How will you set the tables, serve, clear, and clean up? Do you need to hire help? Individual portions are impressive, but time-consuming. It’s easier to slice a cake than to make individual tarts.

Schedule cooking times carefully, so that none of your pots or cooking spaces is doing double-duty. Clean up as you go. Try to prepare vegetables on one day and cook the next. Cholent should be cooked on Friday to save space. See my Cooking Spreadsheet.

Schedule shopping trips the day before vegetable preparation.

Are any of the guests willing to bring food? If they live nearby, ask for salads since they are best prepared at the last minute. Desserts are also an easy dish to assign. And if you have a kosher bakery or caterer in town, that can also be an option for some items.

Plan very, very carefully. Write down every ingredient, utensil, and chore. Build in extra time for emergencies, and include your children as much as possible.

]]>Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University, has been covertly watching people’s eating habits for the last 25 years. In an interview with Anna Maria Tremonte of CBC’s the current, available as a podcast, he argued that there are more effective ways to change people’s eating habits than dieting.

We make 200 decisions about eating every day. Breakfast is about more than whether we have cereal or eggs. If we choose cereal, we choose which kind, how much, whether to add milk and how much, whether to finish the serving, and if so, whether to have seconds. If we set up the environment in such a way that we have fewer unhealthy options, we will eat better without much effort.

Wansink claims that we make decisions about eating in a limited number of places throughout the day, so it’s relatively easy to make changes that will drive us to make healthier choices.

A primary predictor of healthy or unhealthy weight is what food is out on the counter in the kitchen. People who keep chips or cookies on the counter, even a single cookie, weigh an average of ten pounds (4.5 kg) more, than their neighbors who don’t. When the cookies are in sight, you must repeatedly make a decision about eating them. You might resist 25 times, consider it on the 26th, and give in on the 27th. Cereal is even more enticing, according to Wansink, because we perceive it as healthier. If cereal is on the counter, you’re likely to weigh 20 pounds (9 kg) more than average.

Candy is only worth three pounds (1.5 kg) a year, perhaps because people keep up their guard. But keeping fruit on your counter can help you weigh eight pounds (3.5) less than average. Wansink recommends keeping a bowl of fruit within two feet (60 cm) of where you walk every day.

Choosing smaller plates, from 11-12 inches (28-30 cm) to 9-10-inch (22-25 cm) diameter, reduces the amount of food consumed by 22%. A 4-ounce (120 g) serving of pasta looks like an appetizer on a large plate.

Wansink has also studied restaurants, particularly Chinese buffets. He found that thin people act differently at buffets than overweight people. Strategies that thin people use, based on his observations, include walking around the entire buffet before filling your (small) plate, sit with your back to the buffet, and using chopsticks.

Schools and workplaces can also encourage healthy eating by making healthy choices more accessible and attractive.

I do keep fruit on my counter, and if I do buy cake or snacks, it stays in the cabinet or I will eat it. Do you think Wansink’s suggestions encourage healthy eating? Would you try them yourself?

]]>My vegan son asked me to make chumus. I’ve failed numerous times. The recipe below, unlike others I’ve seen, does not include additional water. I also spent five minutes removing the skin from the cooked chickpeas.

I happened to have fresh parsley and coriander on hand, so I added them both. They definitely took the chumus to a new level. This dish got raves from my kids, and I will be making it frequently.

I used freshly cooked chickpeas for this recipe. To cook chickpeas, see this chart: Guide to Cooking Dried Beans from Scratch. Adding baking soda makes them softer and easier to peel, but destroys some vitamins. I prefer not to add it.

Canned chickpeas work too.

Serve with fresh salad or cut-up vegetables, and fresh pita or whole-grain bread for dipping.

This spicy chickpea paste can be an appetizer or a main course with pita or other bread and vegetables.

Ingredients

1 clove fresh garlic, peeled

5 sprigs each parsley and coriander

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, skin removed if desired

3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)

Juice of half a lemon

½-1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon high quality olive oil for garnish

Instructions

To peel chickpeas (optional): Wash your hands. Put the well-cooked chickpeas in a bowl and crush the peas between your fingers. The skin will come off in your hands. Drop the skins into another bowl and discard. Continue until all the skins have been removed.

Place the garlic and coriander into a food processor bowl and process with the S-blade until chopped.

Add the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, salt, and cumin. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.

After cooking fresh spinach, whether in a microwave, pot, or pressure cooker, you can use it in a variety of recipes. I usually chop some, and leave the rest whole.

While a lot of people claim not to like spinach, its taste is rather mild. If you stick to small amounts, only the most avid spinach hater is likely to object. Also, the bright green color enhances the look of the dish.

Not all of the iron in spinach is digestible, and people with a history of oxalate-containing kidney stones should avoid it. Spinach contains a variety of important vitamins and minerals including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron and folate.

So now that you’ve prepared the spinach, what can you do with it? Below are ten ways of using cooked spinach.

How about Eggs Florentine? Start with raw spinach. Saute a large bunch of spinach with garlic and olive oil, squeeze in a bit of lemon, add some salt and pepper, and feta cheese if you like. Serve poached eggs over the bed of sauteed spinach for a gluten-free yummy breakfast. Via Maya Thau-Eleff at the Norene’s Kitchen Facebook group.

]]>Cholent is the Yiddish word for the stew traditionally served on Sabbath mornings in Jewish homes. Most Jewish communities throughout the world had their own version, using local ingredients. Before people had their own ovens, they brought the cholent to the communal oven on Friday afternoon. There, it would cook overnight, because starting the cooking is forbidden from sunset on Friday.

Cholent generally includes small amounts of poultry or cubed meat, and some recipes originating in North Africa include whole eggs in the shell. The key to making a long cooking stew is to include lots of flavorful ingredients.

My son, who recently become vegan, has been making vegan cholent whenever he comes home for the weekend. It has a few surprise, like mushrooms and date syrup or tea. Cholent is very flexible, so don’t be afraid to omit or substitute ingredients. Make sure to add enough water, so it doesn’t dry out during the long cooking period.

]]>Fats and oils are an essential part of the human diet, and help make foods tasty. But with some medical conditions, or before certain procedures, it’s necessary to eat foods with very little or no fat content. You may have to completely avoid butter, oil, and margarine. You may also not be able to have sesame paste, peanut butter, avocado, egg yolks, cheese, nuts, and milk with any fat content.

But just because you can’t eat fat, you can still enjoy tasty meals. Cooking without fat may require only a few changes to your regular recipes.

Here are some suggestions:

Use the microwave. Chopped onions can be softened by cooking in the microwave for 3-5 minutes. Or you can chop them finely and they will cook in the microwave with the rest of the dish. Try a crustless quiche made with egg whites, finely chopped onions, skim milk and the vegetable of your choice.

Skip sauteing onions and other vegetables them before using in soup or other dishes, like rice. They will cook well in the water, as long as you allow enough cooking time. If they are chopped finely, they will cook quickly.

]]>My son became a vegan just a few weeks ago. After graduating high school last spring, he decided to spend the year volunteering in a town with a low socio-economic population. He and the other teens in his program volunteer during the day, and cook together in the evening. My son helps weak students in a high school in the morning, and works with immigrant children in the afternoon.

Four of his fellow volunteers are vegetarian, and one is a vegan. According to my son, she is the best cook in their group. After attending a festival for vegans, my son decided to become a vegan too.

Two of my children have been vegetarian for several years, so I have experience. But they are easy−they eat everything that is not actually meat or fish, including chicken soup. They pick out pieces of meat and put them aside. So as long as I don’t make something like a ground-turkey casserole with no side dishes, they’ll do okay.

But my vegan son doesn’t compromise. Not only does he avoid meat and fish, he won’t touch small amounts of egg or dairy. Frankly, I was upset with him for not giving me enough warning, especially when I had a full house in the middle of the Jewish holidays.

But I got a surprise in the end. On the eve of the holiday he took out a piece of paper, and started writing up menus. He collected the ingredients and cooked vegan dishes, while I cooked the chicken and the chicken soup. This scenario repeats itself every time he comes home now, about every other weekend. So while I have lost a meat-eater, I’ve gained a co-chef. My vegetarian daughter also makes one or two dishes.

]]>With a round of Jewish holidays coming up, a lot of readers may be expecting a crowd. Smadar Saltun interviewed two caterers, Ronit Bronfman of Mazal Taleh and Anat van der Walt of Sodexo, about how to entertain a large number of people while still enjoying yourself.

Van der Walt points out that when cooking for 15-30 as opposed to 3-4, the differences are not only in scale. You have to make sure that you have enough space and equipment to cook, store and heat up your meal, because you don’t want to spend time fussing in the kitchen. Everything should be ready in advance. Here are their tips:

Stick to a few items, or you”ll end up without enough room in the oven or the stove. Van der Walt suggests one appetizer or soup, two or three main courses, two starches, one or two cooked vegetables, and one raw salad.

Choose items with long cooking times so they can stay on the stove without supervision. Items like steak, that cook quickly but are only tasty when served immediately, don’t work for a crowd. She suggests vegetable stews, roast beef, or chicken in a ceramic pot because they don’t require extra care and look impressive. My suggestions are:

Quantities: Van der Valt runs a catering business so she calculates weight more closely than the average home chef. She recommends 500-600 grams of food per person: 200-250 for the main course, 100 for the first course, 150 for the starch and 100 grams of raw or cooked vegetables. On Rosh Hashanah, there are other items on the table like challah, apples, honey and fruit. An ounce is roughly 30 grams, and a pound is about450 grams.

Cooking: Just like on the cooking shows, van der Valt recommends preparing and measuring all of the vegetables in advance. Then light up the oven or stove and start cooking.

Serve the first course from small bowls waiting at the table. She suggests small servings of cold fish, vegetables, or meat. I also like to have something for the guests to eat immediately.

The second, fish course should be served in individual dishes with some depth, so the fish will hold the flavor of the sauce.

The third, main course should be served centrally, in two or three serving dishes. If the dishes are too large or heavy, guests will have trouble passing them around. Serving forks and spoons should be large and comfortable to hold, so food won’t spill on its way to the plate.

For dessert, Bronfman recommends a buffet on a separate table, with a few different types of cakes, petit fours, and chocolates. This can be prepared in advance, along with a variety of attractive utensils.

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]]>This post was first published in 2011. I’ve updated it with more ideas shared by readers.

A friend of mine gave birth recently, and a few families in the community made meals for her. While it’s possible to order out nowadays, home-cooked meals are often tastier and more nutritious. Providing meals shows the family that they are cared for, and it’s a wonderful way to welcome the baby to the neighborhood. I’ll never forget the friend that called me up every week. starting in my last month of a difficult pregnancy, asking what she could cook for Sabbath dinner.

I’ve compiled some tips for making meals for families who have just given birth.

Updated to add: A foster mom suggests: “Perhaps add a newly adopted (or foster) child as well. The often sudden addition means the family had zero time to prepare.” Point taken!

Don’t wait until after the baby. Sometimes friends make a “casserole shower,” with each guest bringing a frozen casserole for the new parents, that can be saved for when needed.

Make sure the meals are wanted. They could have enough food already. Don’t say, “They’ll just put it in the freezer,” because they might not have room. Remember, even after a few weeks or months life is still hectic with a baby—you can always keep the food in your freezer or offer again another time.

Find out what they like to eat. Check that they don’t have allergies or other food restrictions. If you can’t accommodate, you can help in other ways (see below).

Use containers that you don’t want back. You don’t necessarily have to buy disposables—try reusing a food container you already have. Wrap it well so it won’t leak.

Coordinate. Do you know other people who are supporting the family? Appoint someone to offer help at different times and brainstorm for other ways to help.

Label containers with your name and phone number, type of food, and instructions for heating or defrosting. And state whether or not you want the container back! If you do, arrange to pick it up.

Choose foods that are ready to go. Lasagna in a foil tray is better than a container of soup that has to be reheated in a pot. A fruit platter is better than a whole watermelon. Cut-up vegetables and fresh salads are almost always welcome.

Arrange a convenient time to drop off the meal. Life with a new baby is often unpredictable, so call in advance and stay only a minute unless you are sure the mom wants company.

Suggest other ways to help. Support from friends and family is critical, especially in the early weeks. New parents often can’t think much past the next diaper change. An occasional phone call can help a lot, but don’t take offense if mom can’t talk. Offer to buy groceries, take older children to the park, run errands, throw a load in the machine, or make necessary phone calls.

Keep an eye on the family. Sometimes a caring friend is the first one to notice that something is wrong. The addition of a baby can range from smooth to traumatic. The latter is more likely when the baby, mother, or another family member has even minor health or psychological issues, or even if the baby is particularly fussy. This article explains symptoms and treatment for postpartum depression.

For breastfeeding mothers. Breastfeeding mothers rarely need to restrict their diets to ensure high quality milk, but breastfeeding problems can interfere with enjoyment of the new baby. Help the mother find a local La Leche League Group, or professional breastfeeding support if necessary.